25 



separator itself. This is a perforated wire screen which prevents the 

 seed cotton from passing- through the fan. At this separator an 

 effective apparatus for cleaning the seed cotton should be introduced 

 in order to force the weevils that may be removed through a fan. 

 This end might be attained by providing beaters or spiked picker 

 rollers, revolving as closely as possible to the wire separating screen, 

 having the meshes opening one-third of an inch in the clear. The 

 screening surface should be as large as possible. The picker rollers 

 or beaters should run at a high rate of speed. Under these circum- 

 stances the suction of the fan would draw out the great majority of 

 the trash which would pass through the fan, thus causing the destruc- 

 tion of the weevils. There is no doubt that the number of weevils 

 could be very materially reduced by such contrivances, which are now 

 manufactured, although it is not possible that all weevils could be 

 eliminated in this way. 



Some additional horsepower would be necessary, by reason of the 

 rapid running and extra machinery here recommended. However, it 

 is probable that not more than one additional horsepower would be 

 required. The great majority of the gins undoubtedly have one or 

 more horsepower to spare; still in some cases the lack of a surplus 

 would interfere with the adoption of this recommendation. 



IN THE GINHOTISE PROPER. 



From the foregoing pages it will be evident that wnile some of the 

 systems of handling the cotton in the ginhouse proper are more or 

 less effective in eliminating the boll weevil, none of them are abso- 

 lutely so. The most defective of the mechanical devices are found 

 with the plain feeders, front plain feeders, and huUer gins, in connec- 

 tion with the handling of the seed cotton by hand or by distributor 

 belts. In such systems all trash, sand, boll weevils, etc., fall directly 

 to the top of the gin stands or to the floor, or directly into the seed 

 conveyor, whence the weevils maj^ easily reach the seed house. 



On the other hand, many of the modern cleaning feeders and cotton 

 cleaners have valuable features as far as the control of the boll weevil 

 is concerned. They confine all of the trash removed in spiral conveyors, 

 where it is under perfect control. The trash from the battery of gins 

 should be carried through a single spiral conveyor, which should be 

 closed between the gins. At the present time the usual method is to 

 scatter this trash broadcast about the gin yard or to pass it into the seed 

 conveyor and thence to the seed house. From this place the weevils 

 that may be contained are frequently transported long distances in 

 seed for planting purposes. It would be a very simple matter to pass 

 all this trash from the battery of gins between two compression rollers 

 made of either wood, iron, or other hard substance, having sufficient 



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